


5 Times the Team Helped Hinata and 1 Time He Helped Himself

by Phoenix0in0the0dark



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 5+1 Things, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Avoid first half of chapter 5 if that makes you uncomfortable, Bullying, Everyone Loves Hinata, Gen, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Hinata deserves the world, Hinata stands up for himself, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, I had to write some mean people, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kageyama is actually not emotionally constipated, MY SONS, Protective Team, So proud of him, Sugamama, Tanaka and Nishinoya are protective, Team Bonding, Tsukki actually cares, Volleyball, dadchi, everyone is awesome on the team, i love them, once again, some violence, sorry Hinata
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-05 05:44:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17319092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix0in0the0dark/pseuds/Phoenix0in0the0dark
Summary: The team is a family and family always helps each other out. 5 times the team helped Hinata, and the 1 time he helped himself.





	1. Takeda and Ukai

**Author's Note:**

> Hinata is my baby and he needs to be loved.

“A letter?”

                “A letter.”

                “At least two?”

                “Three if you can manage, nothing fancy, just a show of faith in your character,” the representative confirmed. Hinata nodded dumbly. Here he had thought that keeping his grades up was going to be the hard part. But, no, letters of recommendation were destined to bring him down.

                “All right, take care, kid!” the rep waved him off, looking away to type something on his computer. Hinata mumbled out his thanks, still gob smacked at this new hurdle.

                Two letters of recommendation (three, his mind whispered) from non-related adults. Who the hell would “show faith in his character”?

                His mind immediately flashed to the vice principal’s toupee and its angelic journey from his head to the captain’s. Nope, that’s a terrible idea; he hates Hinata enough as is. Nothing good could come from Hinata asking for a favor.

His teachers? No, that’s almost worse. Considering his less than stellar GPA and track record on their exams he’s not sure he’d even want to see what they would say about him and his work ethic. Probably something along the lines of “he’s excited about volleyball, but ultimately useless”. Yeah, that’s a no-go.

But, it wasn’t an option to not go to this camp. His family could pay for it, most of his team was going and had either already been admitted or submitted all they needed to apply, and even Lev was going. _Lev._ Someone worse than him at receiving was _not_ practicing with professionals without him. No way. He’d rather tell Kageyama he was the superior player.

He needed those letters. Hinata racked his brain, and came up with nothing. Shit.

oOo

                “Hey, Mom?”

                “What’s up, Hinata?” His mother turned to face him as they put the dishes away after dinner, smiling that soft smile that would put even someone as demanding as Natsu at ease.

                “I need your help with something.” She blinked.

                “With homework, or…?” She trailed off prompting Hinata to fill in the blank.

                “Um, actually it’s not really school related.” His mom cocked her head, waiting for Hinata to continue. “I don’t know who to ask to write me letters of recommendation for the volleyball camp over summer.” Hinata curled his fingers in the hem of his t-shirt to give them something to fiddle with, strangely nervous to ask for help. “I don’t want to ask any of my teachers, I don’t think that would be helpful, I can’t really ask any of the higher faculty, and I don’t really know any adults outside of family or school.” Hinata paused, looking at his mother pleadingly.

                She relaxed and smiled.

                “I understand, but I think you’re missing something important.” Hinata looked at her, puzzled. “There are some adults that have a good relationship with you, and, just as importantly, are familiar with you in a volleyball related capacity.” She looked at him meaningfully. Hinata looked down, thinking, then his head snapped up and his face brightened, smile coming out in full force.

                “Thanks, mom!”

oOo

                “Alright, practice is over, clean up and lock up!” Coach Ukai thundered over the squeaking of shoes on the court.

                “Yes, sir!” came the chorus of replies. In minutes, the court was squeaky clean and the equipment carefully put away.

                “Good practice, see you all tomorrow,” Daichi dismissed the team, but Hinata lingered, gathering his stuff, not joining the crowd as they vacated the gym. He sidled over to where the coach and official team manager were talking amongst themselves.

                “Um, Coach Ukai? Takeda-sensei?” They both turned to him, Ukai’s face impassive but not unkind, and Takeda smiling faintly, warmth in his eyes.

                “What can we do for you, Hinata?” Takeda prompted.

                “Well, see, there’s this volleyball camp coming up over the summer and I qualify for everything, except I need at least two letters of recommendation from non-related adults.” He paused, before pushing through, “I was wondering if you two would be willing to write one for me.” He bit his lip before blurting out, “It doesn’t need to be long or detailed! Just a paragraph really, a few lines about how I won’t, I don’t know, burn down their gym and get in a fight with the other campers, I guess. It would help out a lot, I’d really appreciate it, but I understand if you can’t or don’t feel comfortable-” Ukai cut his rambling short.

                “No problem, Hinata.” Hinata looked up at them, eyes wide.

                “Really?”

                “Of course, we’d be honored,” Takeda added easily. “You’re an integral part of our team, of course we want you to be able to go to a training camp like that one.”

                “Besides,” Ukai cut in, a half-smile on his face, “we have only good things to say about Karasuno’s future ace.”

                Hinata grinned, long and wide, eyes sparkling, and face lit up from the inside.

                “Thank you!” He lurched forward, grabbing Takeda, then Ukai in a short but earnest hug. “I’m very grateful.” He bowed to each of them in turn, before running off to catch the other first years, smile still splitting his face in two.

oOo

                The next day, after practice, Takeda and Ukai approached Hinata after practice, small envelopes in each of their hands.

                “These are for you,” Takeda said, taking the pieces of paper and placing them in Hinata’s palm. Hinata opened his mouth to thank them again, profusely, but paused, looking down at his hand.

                “But, there’s more than two here,” He glanced from Takeda to Ukai when the teacher smiled and turned to the coach leaving him to explain.

                “Ah, well,” Ukai rubbed the back of his neck with one hand looking bashful, “when certain people heard that their favorite shrimp was gunning for an exclusive volleyball camp, they wanted to help out.”

                “Certain people…?” Hinata echoed faintly.

                “My grandfather, for one, his name and reputation have a lot of pull to this day, Coach Nekomata from over in Nekoma, some guys from the Neighborhood Association also insisted after having played with you and seen your matches.” Ukai shrugged as if he hadn’t just done something amazing.

                “They insisted on adding, so we added another letter. More references can’t possibly be a bad thing,” Takeda chimed in, looking quite pleased with himself.

                Hinata stammered incoherently, eyes darting between the two. Takeda and Ukai looked on in slight alarm as his eyes turned glassy with tears.

                “Thank you so much, sirs!” He exclaimed, falling into a deep bow. “With your help, they can’t possibly turn me away!” He straightened, looking them dead in the eye before declaring with a shaky, but confident voice, “I won’t lose!” He grinned again, so much so that his eyes scrunched a little at the corners like a kid on Christmas morning before dashing away in a much more joyful fashion than his normal bouncing and tossed a “Tell everyone thank you!” behind him.

                Takeda and Ukai watched him go, fond smiles on their faces.

                “That was a much stronger reaction than I was expecting, to be honest,” Ukai confided. Takeda turned to look at him, a strange expression on his face.

                “I don’t think he’s had people believe in him before,” at Ukai’s puzzled expression, Takeda continued. “Until this year, he didn’t even have a team to support him. How many adults did he tell his aspirations to be the next Small Giant and play in Nationals only to have them tell him it wasn’t possible? That he was too short, too dumb, too high up in the clouds to see the truth. I don’t think he’s had adults believe in his abilities enough to even consider agreeing to vouch for him.” Takeda turned to smile at Hinata’s retreating figure. “Now, he sees that he has another source of support, people who know what they’re talking about when they say—” Takeda paused, and backtracked, “when _we_ say that he is beyond capable.”

                Ukai looked at Hinata as the short redhead gestured wildly at a confused but excited Yachi. “I just hope that he gets accepted after all that.” Takeda laughed, a smug smile curling his lips.

                “Well, you heard him,” they shared a look, “he’s not going to lose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you see any errors.


	2. Daichi and Suga

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mom and dad of the team have to be first I mean come on

Hinata was getting better at blocking. He used his superior agility and energy to throw up a wall in the blink of an eye. In the past, his only weapon was a soft block, more to make the ball easier to dig out than actually slam it down on the opponent’s side of the net. Now, he was getting better at stopping it in his tracks. Most of the time he was able to get his hands in front of it. Sometimes, his face. Most of the time, he would smile at the team sheepishly and they would tease him with a “Nice receive”. Sometimes, it didn’t go that well.

                For his exceptionally clear vision of the court when he was spiking, Hinata couldn’t see shit when he was blocking. As a result, the powerful spike that was supposed to be met with his arms collided with his jaw instead, sending him back to the ground at an odd angle.

                His left foot touched the ground first, but instead of his knee bending to absorb his fall, it locked and his ankle rolled out from under him, sending him to the ground splayed out on his back with his ankle and jaw aching.

                After he hit the floor, there was a beat of silence that seemed to stretch out much longer than its reality of a few seconds. Hinata stayed down on the ground. His jaw hurt and his ankle _throbbed_.

                All at once, the team unfroze, rushing over to the orange headed first year who was curled on the ground, one hand grasping his leg and the other clutching his chest. Suga kneeled down next to the middle blocker and took his hand, partially to reassure him, and partially to get his attention.

                “Hinata, are you okay?” Hinata grasped at his hand in a panic, throat only producing small, airy sounds in place of whatever words he was trying to force out.

                “Ok, you got the breath knocked out of you. Yes or no questions until you can speak. Focus on your breathing. I’m just gonna ask you a few questions.” Suga settled in beside him, making some aborted hand gesture that Daichi seemed to understand as he immediately rushed away for something.

                “Ok, did you hit your head?” A short hesitation, then a headshake no.

                “Can you see, hear, and feel all right?” A nod.

                “Can you move your leg, the one you landed on?” as Hinata’s breathing evened out, his focus turned to his ankle. The second he tried to rotate it around the joint, his face paled and a low hiss forced its way between his teeth. He looked at Suga and shook his head almost violently in an emphatic ‘no’.

                Daichi returned then with a water bottle Sugawara’s black Karasuno jackets still shrugging off his own, which he balled up and placed under Hinata’s head and foot hoping to keep it elevated and still.

                “I told coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei, they’ve gone to contact the nurse.” Daichi settled next to Suga and Hinata on the floor. When he felt Tanaka and Noya nudging at him for a closer look at Hinata, he waved off the team and told them to work on individual practice until they could continue their practice match.

                “Can you breathe now, Hinata?” he refocused on his injured kouhai. Hinata nodded uncertainly and sat up, waving off Suga’s concerned fretting.

                He made to speak, then looked at Daichi pleadingly, gesturing to the bottle in his hand. Daichi readily handed it over and they watched apprehensively as Hinata drank sloppily and greedily.

                “My ribs still kind of hurt, and my ankle won’t move without pain,” he gasped out after draining the bottle.

                “You’re sitting up fine, though, that’s a good sign,” Sugawara commented, letting go of Hinata’s hand to wrap an arm around his shoulders, steadying him.

                The nurse arrived with Ukai and Takeda trailing behind, close but not impeding. She kneeled on the other side of Hinata and took stock of the situation. After a while she nodded to herself and directed to boys.

                “Can you try standing for me if one of your friends here takes your weight?” Hinata bit his lip and nodded at her, gaze shifting to watch as Daichi immediately moved forward and threaded his arm around Hinata’s back.

                As Hinata rose unsteadily to his feet leaning heavily on Daichi, Suga offered his arm for Hinata to balance with as he kept his injured limb from touching the ground.

                “Alright, if you can come with me to my office we can have Hinata hear lay down and we’ll take a look.” Hinata hobbled along with Daichi’s support and Suga filled the nurse in on what happened as Daichi chimed in occasionally to fill in details.

                After maneuvering through the halls of Karasuno and one notable occasion where Daichi carried Hinata down a flight of stairs, they entered the nurse’s office. The captain helped Hinata sit on the cot in one corner to take pressure off his foot.

                “Alright, you two can leave if you have other obligations,” the nurse allowed as she bustled around muttering to herself. Sugawara and Daichi shared a look before Suga spoke up,

                “If it’s all the same to you, ma’am, we’d like to stay with Hinata.” In the corner, Hinata deflated in relief. He would have understood if they had chosen to leave him, he was a teenager after all, capable of a trip to the nurse’s alone, but their presence was soothing.

                The nurse came back after clicking through her computer for a moment.

                “I believe it’s just a sprain, a severe one, you need to keep off of it for a while, but nothing is broken.” Hinata sighed, relieved and noticed Sawamura and Sugawara both relax next to him.

                “I’m sending you with crutches and I’m gonna wrap your foot to immobilize it, and no practice for a week.” Hinata could have wept from happiness. With their next training camp just over two weeks away, any worse of an injury could have rendered the trip useless and no longer worth it for him to attend. Who knew when the next opportunity was for him to practice with and against teams like Fukuroudani and Nekoma?

                “I’ll go get my supplies, wrap that foot for you and you’ll all be on your way, okay?” The nurse sent a kind smile their way before disappearing into a back room of the office. Hinata thanked her along with Suga and Daichi before falling silent, chewing on his lip nervously, glancing at his senpais.

                “Um,” he started, earning their attention, “I’m sorry.” Their faint smiles of relief from the good news melted into matching confused frowns.

                “Hinata, what is there for you to apologize about?” Suga pried gently. Hinata huffed a sigh.

                “I interrupted practice. You had to carry me here. You missed out on valuable practice time. I’m missing at least a week of practice because I couldn’t block a ball.” Hinata looked down to wear his fingers fiddled with his shorts, embarrassed to acknowledge his shortcomings.

                “We don’t think that at all.” Hinata peeked up when Suga spoke to his and Daichi’s surprised faces. “No one is mad at you or even concerned about interrupting practice,” Sugawara insisted.

                “I don’t know if you saw,” Daichi interrupted with a gentle tone, “but we kept having to shoo everyone away so that you could get some space and breathe. Everyone was concerned for your health.” In true captain fashion, his voice brokered no room for argument; he was laying down facts, clear and simple. “Tanaka and Noya wanted to carry you themselves, Asahi looked like he was about to cry, Kageyama looked constipated, which is as close as his face gets to worry, even Tsukishima came over when you collapsed.” Hinata chuckled, not willing to let go of his shame until Suga bent over and tilted his chin up to look them in the face fully.

                “We weren’t mad, we were worried. That’s all.” Hinata blinked and Daichi chuckled, wrapping a brotherly arm around him.

                “We’re your teammates,” the captain had laughter in his voice and Suga was smiling a soft smile, “we’re always going to worry about you. That’s what a team does.”

                Hinata beamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you find any errors!


	3. Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Asahi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't even try to edit this, please tell me about any glaring mistakes. Here ya go, scary Asahi and righteous Noya and Tanaka.

                 Hinata should have known. The bathroom was a dangerous place. His past experience had shown him that. Hell, that was the first time he had really met Kageyama which spoke to the kind of unsavory and terrifying characters he could encounter there. Not that he found Kageyama intimidating, no; it was just a healthy dose of precaution when encountering someone who routinely looked at him like he was a bug that needed squashing. Regardless, he should know better by now.

                When the other team found him, he was bouncing along, excited to play another official match with a real team. He rounded the corner and ran face first into a wall. Well, not a wall, exactly, but close enough. With enough force, a wall of solid muscle is virtually indistinguishable from a wall when your face smashed into it. Stumbling backwards, clutching his tender nose, he looked up to meet the gaze of his obstacle. Well, he looked up, and up, and up. This guy, _this team_ , was easily the height of Tsukishima or taller, and glaring at him like they had personally pissed on their favorite pillow.

                Choosing to leave (read: run the fuck away), he turned around but was yanked back by a hand grasping his upper arm, the fingers easily circling his bicep and _squeezing_.

                “Who’ve we got here?” intoned a guy to his left with a mean set to his smile, “A little middle schooler? No, I got it, elementary at best?”

                And God help him, he couldn’t bite back a remark in defense,

                “I’m a high schooler, a first year, actually.” Immediately, he threw a palm over his mouth to stifle whatever stupid thing threatened to erupt next. The man who had spoken darkened, his cruel smile turning down at the tips into something scarier.

                “Oh, someone thinks highly of himself.” He chuckled, “guess we’ll have to beat that out of ya.” Another hand came forward to clamp around Hinata’s other arm, both working to drag him forward fully into the bathroom, the door swinging closed behind him.

                Another hand fisted in his jacket and another gripped at his hair, painfully tugging at him as he was pulled further into the white tiled bathroom. The captain, the only one who had spoken, eyed the two small boys already occupying the restroom,

                “Scram.” At the tone of his voice, the two spared a glance for each other, then Hinata, before doing exactly that. The door closed lightly behind them, once again cutting Hinata off from any help. The hands fisted in his clothing wrenched him around and threw him into a closed stall door. He fell to the ground, sporting a few new bruises but glad to not have to feel their fingers on him anymore. He looked up, breathing hard as they stood above him; harsh smiles on their faces, advancing slowly, a few even cracked their knuckles for good measure.

                “See, you’ve pissed us off,” the leader spoke again, what do these other guys have no thought of their own? “You dirtied my shirt, got your germs all over it when you ran into me like a snot nosed toddler crying for his mommy.” His foot whipped out catching Hinata in the jaw and slamming his head back into the door he was leaning on. A new guy came forward and kicked his stomach, laughing when he crumpled forward, bent in half to protect his stomach.

                He was picked up again, a beefy forearm bigger than his torso wrapped around his waist and long fingers tangled in his hair again, lifting his head.

                “His hair’s orange. Like a carrot,” Someone commented, and he could feel the fingers twisting and tightening, he could hear them laugh when tears squeezed their way out beneath his tightly closed eyelids and strands of hair ripped out of his head.

                “He’s so tiny, like a little girl,” someone else laughed.

                “He cries like one, too.” The arm around him squeezed tighter.

                “You could almost take him home, a pretty little girlfriend to do whatever you want.” They laughed louder, someone making horrible comments about his mouth, his legs, his body. He squeezed his eyes closed tighter, praying for them to get bored, to let him.

                “No, he’s not pretty enough,” someone chimed in, he didn’t bother to look who.

                “But I bet he knows somebody who is, tiny pathetic guys like that attract all the girls.” They talked to him, now.

                “You got some cute friends you could introduce us to? Hmm, maybe a cute manager?” His eyes snapped open, images of innocent little Yachi and beautiful Shimizu.

                Suddenly, he was kicking and punching occasionally his limbs coming into contact with something soft and fleshy. They dropped him and he came crashing to the ground, still flailing and out for blood. His motions were cut off when a fist caught him in the cheek dangerously close to the eye. Because of his erratic motions, it was only a glancing blow, but the proximity to his vulnerable eyes made him stop moving. This was all they needed to seize control again, over their surprise almost immediately.

                They pinned him to the door again, the captain’s fist cocked and ready to slam into Hinata’s face, when the door slammed open. Hinata wanted to cry with relief when he saw Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Asahi filling the doorway with murderous expressions.

                “What business do you have with our first year, city boys?” Tanaka asked, voice tense and fists balled. Hinata had seen Tanaka and Noya’s “scary faces” many times over the year when they were defending their manager, but had found them funny and about as intimidating as a baby crow learning to fly. This time, though, they looked ready to kill. Even glass-hearted Asahi stood tall and intimidating surrounded by shadows and violent promises. Noya stepped forward, and despite his physically unthreatening stature, the look on his face made everyone take a step back.

                “Get your disgusting hands off of him.” As if commanded by some unseen deity, the hands holding him unclenched and he scurried towards his teammates. He ducked behind Tanaka for protection and peeked over his senpai’s shoulder.

                “If we see you harassing, touching, or looking in the general direction of our middle blocker, we will beat you into dust.” Tanaka cracked his knuckles, somehow managing to look terrifying despite the cheesy gesture. One of the other boys seemed to pluck up his courage and scoffed, his voice wavering despite his faux strong front.

                “What, you three?” He tried to push back, but his voice cracked and his face was flushed with fear.

                Azumane stepped forward and pulled Hinata behind him.

                “Without hesitation,” he asserted, voice low and as angry as Hinata has ever seen him.

                Tanaka sauntered up to the captain, hands in his pockets and a wicked gleam in his eye.

                “This your team, cap?” The other boy had nowhere to hide, the number one on his chest labeling him as the head honcho, and therefore, the one most at fault. He stammered out an excuse.

                “I know your face, I know your team, I know your name. I will _ruin_ you if I see you ever again.” He backed up a step, still leveling a glare at them as Noya spoke up behind him.

                “Why him? I wanna know why you picked him to be so cruel to.” Hinata looked at the leader again having wondered the same thing. His lips curled meanly and he snickered.

                “Because he was there.”

                Tanaka whipped around and cracked his fist against his jaw. The other boy reeled back and staggered into his teammates, but no one made a move to retaliate.

                “I’m going to _bury you_.”

                “Ryuu,” Noya called, “we need to go.” As they all turned to leave, he stopped and addressed the other team again. “Don’t worry; we’re not done with you yet.” He smiled a predatory smile, darker than a crow’s feathers and they left, the door closing again with Hinata finally on the other side of it.

                As they left, Hinata’s teammates’ faces didn’t change, still pissed beyond belief. He tapped Tanaka’s shoulder.

                “How did you know I needed your help?” Tanaka turned to him and grinned, slinging his arm around Hinata.

                “Of course we knew! Good senpais have an extra sense about these things.” Asahi cut in.

                “A kid told us, he was in the bathroom before they…you know.” Asahi’s voice was soft and sad now.

                “I’m sorry we didn’t get there earlier,” he rubbed the back of his neck, looking ashamed. Hinata shook his head vigorously.

                “I’m so glad you turned up at all! I thought I was done for. I have such awesome senpais!” Noya came up to his other side, nudging him playfully but gently in the side.

                “You didn’t think we’d let anyone hurt our favorite kouhai, did you?” Hinata laughed, bright and fresh and happy.

                “Of course not, Noya-senpai! I knew you’d save me!”


	4. Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, and Yachi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's a little more about Tsukishima, but I just really love the idea that Tsukki would fight anyone for his teammates but has to keep his street rep up.

Not that he was vain or anything, but Hinata was popular. It didn’t matter who they were, introvert, extrovert, older, younger, male, female, other, whatever. Hinata was a ball of sunshine, and everybody loved him. It’s hard not to at least smile when you see the human embodiment of the sun bouncing towards you with a bright grin on his face. He was blinding in the best way. Girls found him cute, boys found him fun. He was everyone’s friend in some way. Let’s be honest, if he can befriend Kageyama (in loose terms), he can get along with everybody. Everybody loved him, everybody believed that. Apparently they weren’t completely right.

                “Where’s his highness?” Tsukishima queried offhandedly.

                “Yamayama is sick today,” Hinata answered distractedly, still working furiously in his notebook. Yachi and Yamaguchi chatted nearby, enjoying the pleasant atmosphere. The five first years often sat together at lunch where Yachi, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima could help Kageyama and Hinata with any homework or quizzes coming up. Admittedly, Tsukki generally left that part of their daily meetups to the two nicer first years. So, here they were again, sans Kageyama, apparently.

                “Yachi, I don’t get this one,” Hinata spun his paper to face Yachi, beaming when Yamaguchi also shuffled closer to look at the practice question.

                “Ah, you have to isolate the variable first…” Yachi’s helpful chatter faded into the background as Tsukishima leaned back in his seat and gazed out the window, not particularly hungry, and more willing to shoot himself in the leg than help Hinata learn algebra. Clouds drifted by, not terribly dark, but large in number and size. Fluffy white and gilding lazily across the blond’s vision as he rested his head on his hand.

                It was quiet. Tsukishima realized, dazedly snapping out of his haze. He looked at the vacant seat diagonal from him where Shrimpy usually sat.

                “Oi, where’d the chatterbox go?” Yamaguchi looked up, blinking.

                “Hinata went to the bathroom, a little bit ago. He isn’t back yet.” Tsukishima reclined in his seat.

                “Finally, some peace and quiet,” he muttered to himself, hearing Yachi’s quiet giggle and Yamaguchi’s snort.

                One minute passed. Two. Three. An eternity. Finally, Tsukishima sat up, adjusting his glasses with one hand. Yachi and Yamaguchi sat to his right, chatting quietly and amiably, and across there was still no Hinata, just his empty seat.

                “Still no Shorty?” He questioned, still trying to look nonchalant over something that was obviously inconsequential and didn’t bother him at all. Not one bit. Nope.

                Yamaguchi and Yachi looked up from their conversation, towards Hinata’s usual spot, then at the clock, realizing how much time had passed.

                “Huh, I don’t think he usually takes this long.” Yamaguchi frowned. Good, so they were worried, too. _Curious, not worried just curious_. Of course.

                “I’ll go see if I can find him,” Yachi decided, standing up and clasping her hands together, wringing her fingers in anxiousness.

                “Tsukki and I will help you,” Yamaguchi declared, standing and pulling the taller blond with him as he followed their short manager out the door. They walked around each floor in the building, Yamaguchi stopping in the bathrooms to see if their middle blocker was simply still in the bathroom. Their gait steadily quickened in urgency upon each empty restroom. After the fourth empty bathroom, they began to really worry. Hinata had simply disappeared.

                They eventually started going to any corner of the school Hinata could have wandered into. Walking by the long windows of a corridor and eyeing the darkening storm clouds outside, Tsukishima felt uneasy. Hinata wasn’t the sort to make people worry unnecessarily if he could help it. Most likely, he had gotten caught up chatting with someone somewhere and lost track of time. Nothing was wrong. He hoped. Tsukishima exhaled loudly, annoyed at himself for overreacting to nothing, but then he heard it.

                Voices. They were low, coming from a dark shadowy corridor up and to the left of where they were walking. Not far from the classroom they had been eating in either. Tsukishima almost suggested trying somewhere else when he heard something else. Sniffling, crying. He stopped abruptly. Yachi and Yamaguchi opened their mouths to ask questions, but he looked at each of them sternly and slowly, deliberately shook his head and motioned for them to stay quiet. They stayed still and listened.

                “…can’t believe they let someone like you compete in actual sports. You’re shorter than me, and they think you can spike a ball. No chance, not you.” Yamaguchi’s eyes widened in alarm. Yachi gasped silently. Tsukishima stood still, still listening, thinking.

                “Yamaguchi, Yachi, go get an adult, a teacher, someone. Get them and bring them here.” They looked up at him, Yachi’s eyes shining with tears and Yamaguchi’s hands clenched at his sides. Tadashi’s mouth opened, probably to argue, but Tsukishima cut him off.

                “Go, for Hinata. The faster an authority figure gets here, the quicker Hinata can get help.” Yamaguchi’s mouth snapped shut. He grabbed Yachi’s hand and sped back down the hall they had come from before stopping and turning around to face his best friend.

                “Go stop them. Help him until we can get back.” Then he turned and left.

                Alone, Tsukishima turned around, toward the sounds from earlier, and sauntered forward in a self-assured style that he knew insecure bullies hated.

                Turning the corner, he found Hinata. On the floor. Curled up into a ball. Crying quietly. Surrounded by three other boys, all maybe a grade above them. Tsukishima’s eyes widened at the sight. Hinata had never been anything but confident and smiling. This was…unnerving, at the very least.

                “Look at you. Sitting on the floor crying. Sorry, tiny, but your mom’s not here to wipe your nose and save you. You’re gonna have to fight for yourself. Not that you can in that state. Barely five feet tall, I bet. And on a _volleyball_ team. Where they that desperate for players? Pathetic.” The boy speaking moved forward, winding up presumably to kick Hinata in the face when Tsukishima snapped.

                “And you’re not?” Three heads whipped around to face the source of the comment, Hinata didn’t look up, but his shuddering stopped and his body stilled. “What do you call three versus one? Heroic? I disagree.” Tsukishima waltzed forward, hands in his pockets, and stood in front of the one who had been speaking. He used his height to tower over the kid who wasn’t that tall himself, and smirked. The boy didn’t speak, and neither did his friends. Probably still too shocked to say anything. “See, to me, you look like petulant three year olds crying over insignificant, childish things. Taking your anger out on anyone convenient, breaking toys like emotionally constipated toddlers who can’t much else than cry and shit themselves.”

                “Oi, who do you thi-” one started, stepping forward, but Tsukishima cut him off.

                “Let me guess. Soccer players? No.” He reconsidered, then grinned. “Basketball players who didn’t make the team. Too short? Or too untalented?” He walked around the first boy, casually sliding himself between the three boys and Hinata, who still lay carefully on the floor, trying not to draw attention to himself. “I guess for people with pea-brains like yours, the two are synonymous. You’re bitter about your _short_ comings” he chuckled at his own pun “so you decide to make someone who succeeded suffer.” He paused, looking at them each in turn. “It must kill you that Hinata made it to nationals, huh.”

                He stalked forward, crowding them into the lockers behind them, herding them away from Hinata, who had begun to stir, finally understanding that he wasn’t in immediate danger.

                “Hate to break it to ya, but he got there on actual talent. Not on pathetic intimidation tactics like the ones I’m sure are your go-to strategies.” He smirked, then still standing over them, enjoying the fear on their faces compared to the twisting in his gut when he had seen the same fear on Hinata’s at their hands. He turned then, offering a hand to Hinata. Hinata took it, and gingerly climbed to his feet, still standing close to Tsukishima. They stood, side by side, Tsukishima heard hurried footsteps rushing down the hall in their direction.

                “Next time you want to pick on someone, don’t pick my teammate. Pick someone with your own mental acuity. There’s a kindergarten down the street where you might have a chance.” A teacher turned the corner, closely followed by Yamaguchi and Yachi. Tsukishima smirked at them as he walked away, “Later.”

                Yamaguchi and Yachi rushed to Hinata’s side frantically mothering him and asking if he was okay as the teacher started to angrily grill the boys for their names and classes.

                “I’m fine, really, guys. I just hit my head when they threw me into the lockers and maybe jammed my finger catching myself on the way down.” They continued to fuss, chattering nervously to each other and to Hinata. Tsukki walked alongside them in silence, hands in his pockets, considering the events.

                “Oi, Hinata,” Yamaguchi and Yachi fell silent and all three paused to look at him. Tsukishima shifted uncomfortable, less than thrilled to say this in the first place, much less so with the extra attention. “You know that if anything like this happens again, if anyone bothers you, you can tell anyone on the team, right? You know that?” Hinata looked at him, eyes wide and golden and staring straight into Tsukishima’s soul. Finally he nodded and continued looking forward.

                “I know. I can count on you guys. You’re like my family.” He looked down, almost sheepishly. “Thanks, guys.” Yachi and Yamaguchi glowed and began to talk over each other assuring Hinata that they would beat up anybody who ever messed with him. Tsukishima nodded again, shoving his hands further into his pockets and walked alongside them silently once again, watching the clouds outside the window drift along in fluffy white peace.

                Of course he would be telling the captain about this little altercation at practice today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading the new chapter! Let me know if you find mistakes!


	5. Kageyama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: THIS CHAPTER HAS AN ANXIETY ATTACK BE CAREFUL IF YOU'RE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THAT  
> So, my planning document somehow didn't save, so I have to try and remember what my plan was supposed to be for the last chapter. So, we'll see when that happens. Anyways, enjoy Kageyama supporting Hinata, I thought he deserved his own chapter. As always, please point out any errors you see, thanks!

For all of his optimism, all of his boundless seemingly baseless confidence, Hinata got anxious more than he wanted to admit. Countless warm-ups were spent hunched over a toilet or sink trying to calm his rebelling stomach and overactive nerves. He could never seem to make himself believe that the coach wouldn’t pull him from the game the second he made a mistake. The second he proved useless.

                He was there now, bent over a sink, avoiding himself in the mirror, and clutching his abdomen like he had been sucker punched. Which was a fairly accurate analogy for how twisted up his insides felt. His heart was hammering, his head buzzed with white noise, the ringing in his ears only disturbed by the occasional phrase floating through his mind:

                “ _He’s_ _middle blocker? He’s so small.”_

_“He doesn’t look that impressive to me.”_

_“Hey, isn’t that Kageyama? And Nishinoya? Who’s he? Number 10?”_

_“Is he an alternate?”_

_“He can’t really play.”_

                No, no, no. He had worked _so_ hard to prove those people wrong. But, that didn’t mean he didn’t hear them. The whispers from other teams, other coaches, spectators, classmates. He wasn’t tall enough, he wasn’t strong enough, he wasn’t good enough.

                “I’ll set for those I deem necessary to win. And right now, I don’t think you are.” That’s what Kageyama had told him, point blank, no bull shit. And he had been right.

                Hinata _was_ too short, too small, too stupid, too useless to play. Only the strong stay on the court. And he felt _so_ weak.

                He had been in awe of his teammates for a while now. Kageyama was the genius setter. Tsukishima had his height and his cool unflappability, his brain. Yamaguchi had his float serves. Noya had his amazing receives. Tanaka his stubbornness. Asahi his power. Daichi his dependability. Suga his familiarity with people.

                Hinata was…underwhelming, objectively. His receives were pretty shit, his serves barely got in on a good day. He even needed Kageyama’s scarily accurate sets to spike. There was always someone better. There was always somebody to replace him if he screwed up. It was only a matter of time before Coach Ukai pulled him for good. He was an expendable surrounded by talented athletes.

                Caught in his spiraling anxiety, Hinata had begun to breathe faster and faster, no longer in control of his body, his thoughts, and no longer aware of time passing. He gasped the edge of the sink and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to block out himself, drown himself in nothingness where pain couldn’t reach him.

                He collapsed; vaguely feeling his knees hit the cold, tiled floor and stinging with the impact. Salty tears hit his knees and he wondered when he had begun to cry. But, he didn’t open his eyes; afraid he would see someone else staring at him, or worse his own pathetic reflection mocking him in the cracked mirror.

                His chest hurt, he eyes burned, his knees ached. Hinata felt like he had melted into the floor and calcified there, perpetually doomed to this pain in his heart, this disappointment haunting him for the rest of his natural life. Distantly, he realized he was being ridiculous, he was overreacting. But, he couldn’t convince his head and his lack of influence over _his own brain_ sunk him deeper into the desperate ache.

                “Oi, dumbass!” No, not now, no one could see him now. He froze. His breathing, his pained sobbing, and his heart stopped. His body must have reverted to his lizard brain that hoped if he stayed still, nothing could see him. His mind screamed at himself to get up, brush this whole thing off and leave without embarrassing himself further.

                Unfortunately, he had just as little control over his body as his whirlpool mind.

                A face came into focus. Dark hair, blue eyes, a somehow unthreatening scowl. Kageyama. He should have guessed. Those eyes were as focused as he’d ever seen them during a match, but now they were staring into his soul instead of at a volleyball. Hinata remembered why he’d thought Kageyama was so intimidating when he had first met him all those years ago.

                “Hinata? Can I touch you?” The words slipped through the void behind his eyes, and he found himself nodding despite his confusion at the question. A hesitant hand rested on his shoulder. Another pressed solidly against his chest where his lungs were spasming again and his heart was beating jackrabbit fast.

                The points of contact grounded his senses. He focused on the warmth leeching into his body and the unmoving ground beneath him. The swarm between his ears receded a little.

                “Hinata, you need to breathe.” Kageyama instructed in a quiet voice, probably in an effort not to startle Hinata or make anything worse.

                “I—I can’t—I don’t…it—“ Hinata felt words pour out of him in a confusing jumble, no meaning to accompany them as they spilled from his trembling lips.

                “You can.” The words stopped, his mouth snapping shut. Kageyama’s voice quieted his head just a little. Just enough to focus on his heaving lungs.

                He could do this, he just needed to breathe. He’d been breathing since he was born; it couldn’t be that hard, right? Right.

                Wrong. Every breath felt like a herculean task, like no matter how hard he forced his lungs to expand and fill with air, there was still no oxygen. His breathing quickened again in panic and he spiraled once more.

                “Hinata, look at me. Do what I do.” Kageyama’s hand had shifted from steadying Hinata by his shoulder to grasping one of the shorter boy’s hands and placing it on his own chest. Dazedly, Hinata registered the setter’s breathing and subconsciously began to copy him. Kageyama kept silent, for which Hinata was grateful, any other sensory stimulation would surely overwhelm him.

                After what seemed like an eternity, Hinata felt his breathing slow and his heart rate regulate itself in response.

                He peeked up at Kageyama’s face, bracing himself for uncomfortable disgust or something just as bad. But, that wasn’t there, not even a trace of pity. Kageyama’s face was neutral, with only a slight crease on his brow betraying something like concern. He looked as if finding his teammate collapsed on the floor of a bathroom was a common occurrence.

                “Um,” Hinata began, uncomfortable with the heavy silence, “I’m sorry?” It came out a question, more because Hinata couldn’t think of anything better to say than anything.

                “For what?” Well, that wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

                “For disappearing, having a…problem, making you deal with it...” the middle blocker trailed off, unsure. Kageyama glanced at him sideways, frowning a little.

                “Dumbass, you don’t have to apologize for that.” Hinata blinked. “It’s not like you did it on purpose. It happens. Sometimes you get nervous before a match.”

                Hinata ducked his head. Was that all this was? He was just nervous? No, it didn’t feel like nerves. It felt like suffocation, like drowning in his head.

                Kageyama must have seen his hesitation, because he tilted his head considering.

                “That seemed a little extreme, though.” Hinata’s cheeks burned with shame.

                “This has been a long time coming. It’s deep seated anxiety or insecurity brought on by some triggering worry.” He stared at the setter. When had he gotten so smart? Kageyama shrugged. “I’m in Intro to Psych.” Kageyama settled down next to him, no longer crouching. Hinata slumped next to him. Kageyama rested his head against the wall behind them and spoke,

                “So? What’s going on?” Hinata buried his face in his raised knees for a moment before speaking.

                “They’re gonna pull me. I’m gonna be replaced.” At Kageyama’s bewildered look, Hinata took a deep breath and spilled everything he had been thinking for months. Everything about his height, his lack of basic skills, his dependency on other people, his apparent inability to fight for himself on the court. Kageyama listened to everything, never interjected, just listening and providing quiet support somehow. After Hinata had finished, he slumped, feeling exhausted and wrung dry, but clearer.

                “Well,” Kageyama started, “you seem to have a pretty distorted view of things.”

                “What, you wanna fight, Bakeyama?” Hinata returned on instinct. Kageyama gave him a look like _Hinata_ was being immature when nine times out of ten Kageyama would be the one to start their little spats.

                “First, you are not useless.” Hinata opened his mouth, maybe to protest, maybe to agree, he would never know because the look from his teammate had him closing his mouth faster than he opened it. “You have skills a lot of people would kill to have. You’re fast, you’re agile, you can jump as high as guys who have a good 20 centimeters on you. Sometimes higher. You are the perfect decoy. I meant that the first time I said it, I mean it now. You bring something out of the team that has become a valuable offensive weapon. Something that keeps our opponents on our toes, and our team sharp and efficient.” Hinata continued to stare. Kageyama wouldn’t look at him.

                “Second, I don’t think you understand what this team is. The team is your support, and you are theirs. You are not perfect.” Hinata flinched. “None of us are.” He froze. “We all have talents, and we all have weaknesses. The team’s job is to close the gap where you’re lacking and give you room to play to your strengths. You said you’re afraid your receives aren’t good enough. You can get better. Until then, you have the team.” Kageyama looked at him out of the corner of his eye, a gleam in his gaze. “Are you saying you don’t trust Daichi-san or Noya-san to receive?” Hinata gaped.

                “No! Of course not! They’re the best, they’re amazing.”

                “Exactly, you rely on them to dig out impossible spikes and serves. But, do you expect them to also block and spike the ball after receiving it?”

                “No! They can’t do everything, that’s unfair, Yamayama.”

                “Right, they rely on you for that. Everyone on this team has an important role. You, me, everybody. We play our parts to benefit the team. Your team’s job is to support you, Hinata. We don’t expect you to be perfect, just to do your best. And you haven’t let us down yet.” Kageyama paused his speech before fully turning to face Hinata.

                “Don’t be worried about getting benched. Take it from someone whose worst nightmare used to be being useless. We need you.” With that, Kageyama stood; towering over Hinata in a way that used to make him fell small. Instead, he felt safe, supported.

                The setter held out a hand for Hinata to take. When he did, the setter pulled him to his feet and looked him straight in the eye with that curved smirk that terrifies the other teams.

                “Now, what do you say we go kick that other team’s ass?” Hinata grinned.

                “With pleasure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah the ending was a little rushed, I felt bad because I didn't write for almost a week and knew I would start to lose motivation to write this fic if I got too far off schedule, so here you go.


	6. Hinata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last chapter, everyone! I'm not thrilled with it, the beginning especially, but I wanted to finish it, so here we go!

Since Karasuno had fallen from victory when the Little Giant left, outside support had become a thing of the past. The third years vaguely remembered hearing about people coming to watch their matches. But, now, the stands were populated solely by Yachi, maybe a few Neighborhood Association members, and the overwhelming presence of the opposing team’s school. As the team began to actually make headway in their goals of nationals, people began to cheer them on. In the long awaited match against Shiratorizawa, the team encountered something they had never really faced before: fans. Dozens, _hundreds_ of classmates, old friends, and community members had come to show their support to the point of drowning out the intimidating chants of Shiratorizawa’s cheering section in the stands.

                Tanaka and Noya could be seen puffing out their chests at even a glimpse of longer hair suggesting a girl. Asahi rubbed the back of his neck bashfully when people commented on his spikes. Tsukki rolled his eyes when people whispered about his height, but Yamaguchi beamed. Daichi and Suga grinned softly in pride at all of these. Hinata was starstruck.

                Kids and parents and families from their school, and from the surrounding neighborhoods, had come to cheer them on. People actually recognized them as a force to be reckoned with on the court, as real players on par with the likes of Shiratorizawa. _Finally._ Hinata was as good as floating.

                As the volleyball team emerged as prefectural champions from the gymnasium after their victory over Shiratorizawa, the people formed a path for them, still shouting and cheering for the players. Many enthusiastic people swarmed the team, shouting encouragement and doling out celebratory slaps to most of the players’ upper backs. Apparently, the vice principal had made the match mandatory for many classes, and while most of the students were happy to be there, to see people they knew from school do so well, some were not. A small crowd of teenagers had hung back from the ocean of happy Karasuno students. No one paid them any attention, except, weirdly enough, Tsukishima, who narrowed his eyes at the sight of them and emitted a low dismissive growl. Even Yamaguchi seemed to tense up when he noticed them. The rest of the team didn’t seem to notice them, still riding high from their victory.

                After the crowd cleared a bit, only a few stragglers stayed behind. Among which, was a small, short, eight or nine year old boy with a wide smile and happy brown eyes. He latched onto Hinata at the nearest opportunity, tugging on his hand and squealing excitedly.

                “You’re small!” He exclaimed, gripping Hinata’s hand tightly. Hinata stared back down at him, dumbfounded. The small group stilled, falling silent and waiting for the middle blocker’s reaction. The team especially held their breath, knowing exactly how sensitive Hinata was about his height.

                “You’re short!”

                “And weak!” Shouted one of the few teenagers that had hung back, still loitering in the shadows. “Pathetic, if you ask me.” Added another one. Tanaka and Noya immediately stepped forward, growling, protective of their kouhai. Daichi scowled angrily, even Suga looked murderous. Hinata held out a hand behind him, not breaking eye contact with the young boy in front of him. Tsukishima, with a dangerous look in his eyes, put out his hands to stop the two second years from acting, gripping their shoulders tightly.  

                “Wait,” he said, “let Hinata handle this.” They looked back, ready to argue, but upon seeing Tsukki’s intense gaze, relented and stepped down.

                Hinata, who hadn’t moved, hadn’t stopped looking shocked and tense, seemed to loosen suddenly, a grin coming to his lips. He took the kid’s hand in his own and kneeled down to his level, despite the lack of a height difference when he was standing.

                “You’re right. I am small, and short, and young, and weak.” Hinata acknowledged quietly. Tsukki had to tighten his grip on Tanaka and Nishinoya to keep them from charging once again.

                “But, you play volleyball?” The child asked, looking confused and maybe a little hopeful.

                “I do.” Hinata answered, nodding firmly. His tone held no hesitation or doubt. He sounded sure of himself and confident. The team stopped short, when had he matured? Where was the scared little crow?

                “I play volleyball because I worked for it. I saw a great player who soared above the other team and found a way to fight for himself and his team in midair. I decided that if he could be that amazing, I could, too. So, I spent years practicing. I ran and I jumped so I could play. I wanted to stay on the court for as long as I could. And I knew that my height would hold me back. So I worked to make my height work for me. I am small, but I’m fast. I’m short, but I can jump higher than their blocks.” He paused, and rested his hands on the little kid’s shoulders. Hs golden eyes stared into the kid’s soul.

                “Never let anything hold you back from your dreams. If you want to play volleyball, do it. Don’t stop because someone told you that you weren’t cut out for it. Prove them wrong.” He stared at the boy a second longer before dropping his hands and standing again. His intense look faded, and a bright, sunny smile lit up his face.

                “Plus, I was never really alone. I found a team that supports me. I don’t need to be taller than the other team because this angry guy,” he pointed at Kageyama, who looked slightly incensed at the comment, “breaks open a path for me.”

                “Those two,” he gestured at Noya and Daichi. “always have my back.”

                “Those guys,” a finger in the direction of Tanaka and Asahi, “allow me to play the decoy to my full potential.”

                “They,” Suga and Yamaguchi blink, “encourage me either from the sidelines or on the court. It doesn’t matter, they’re there for me.

                “Those two beautiful girls,” Yachi squeaked in embarrassment, Kiyoko looked on passively but with a small grin hinting at her amusement curls the corner of her mouth, “support us all. They make sure we can do our best.”

                “Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei teach us to make sure we improve, I’ve learned a lot from both of them.”

                “Even he plays nice once in a while.” Hinata concluded with a grin. Tsukishima clicked his tongue in pretend annoyance, but everyone saw the slight blush on his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

                “I’m strong because we’re strong as a team. Even when I mess up or have a bad day, my team has my back and I have theirs.” The boy stared up at Hinata with awe in his eyes.

                Because Hinata does look strong. For a long time, the team had been worried about him, wanted to protect him. But the person standing in front of them now didn’t need protection. He was tenacious and dedicated and amazing. He was a hell of a volleyball player, and a dependable teammate.

                The little boy beamed, thanked Hinata in an admiring voice, and ran off to his parents. They led him away as he immediately began to relay his experience talking to a “real, live volleyball player!”

                “And he’s short, but he’s the coolest player! He can jump and spike the ball _over the other team’s heads_.” His parents look at him, smiling and laughing a little. But, the entire team hears his parting claim of,

                “Someday, I’m gonna be just like him!” Hinata beams.

                As Tanaka and Noya sling their arms around Hinata, ribbing him about calling Kyoko and Yachi beautiful so confidently, Suga leans towards Daichi.

                “He’s going to be a great senpai one day, huh.” And as Daichi watched the small, grown up decoy bounce away with his team, he couldn’t help but agree.

                “Yes, he is. Someday soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please point out any errors you find!


End file.
